The average cost of a hospital birth is $10,000 -$12,000. Are you prepared to cover that expense if you find out that you do not have maternity care coverage under you current health insurance plan? Add to the hospital costs the charges for frequent doctor visits, prenatal vitamins and lab test, you can be facing a huge financial crisis.

Many people who have health insurance coverage through their employer assume that the plan covers maternity care. For some employers, adding maternity coverage would be very costly and therefore they do not add it to the basic health plan. If you are of childbearing age, whether you plan to get pregnant or not, you should check with you benefit administrator or the health plan to determine if there is maternity coverage under your current plan. Should there be coverage, you will want to find out what is covered. Does it just cover a hospital delivery? What about the doctor visits and related labs? Can you see a midwife? If there are complications, will it cover the extra, required treatment?

For those with private health insurance, chances are that maternity care is not a covered expense. Those plans which do offer maternity coverage under the base policy tend to have higher premiums. If there is coverage, you will want to ask the same questions listed above in order to prevent shock when you file a maternity related claim and have it denied.

There are maternity care riders available. Ask your current health insurance company if they have such riders. Should you choose to add a rider, please understand that coverage many not begin until after you have had the rider for a year. This is why it is important to consider adding this coverage, even if you are not planning to get pregnant in the near future. There are a few insurance companies which will extend coverage to you after getting pregnant, but they are rare and very expensive.